An Unlikely Pair
by I AM AIR
Summary: Sohma Yuki, Akana Neko. He is a Japanese Rat, she is an Egytian Cat. He is loved by his family. She is beaten by her family. What will happen between these two completely different people? Can Yuki rescue Neko from her family before she dies? YukiXOC
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Akana Neko

**Chapter 1: Akana Neko**

**Story:**

"Oof!" A 15 year old girl and 16 year old boy muttered. He had been looking up at the sky and she had been looking at the ground when they collided. The boy; Sohma Yuki, a teenager living in Japan while carrying his family's curse.

The Sohma's were cursed people, whenever they embraced and or were embraced by the opposite sex; they changed into one of the 12 Zodiac Animals of the Chinese legend.

Yuki would turn into a white rat while his older and younger cousins; Shigure, Kyo, Momiji, Hatori, Hatsuharu (Haru), Kagura, Hiro, Isuzu (Rin), Kisa, Ritsu and Kureno, would transform into a dog, cat, rabbit, seahorse, cow, boar, sheep, horse, tiger, monkey and Yuki's older brother, Ayame, would transform into a snake. Kureno was free of the curse, thus not transforming into the rooster.

Kyo, the cat, was not actually counted as a Zodiac Animal as the rat had, in the legend, tricked the cat into thinking the banquet was another day. The cat did not attend and was not counted as a Zodiac Animal.

The girl landed on her back and Yuki landed on top of her. A few people giggled at their position. Yuki quickly stood up and offered his hand to her.

'_Why didn't I transform? Unless… unless she is a Sohma…'_ Yuki thought to himself

'_Huh? Why didn't I transform?' _The girl thought. "Sorry." The girl said sticking out her hand and smiling. "Akana Neko."

Yuki shook her hand. "Sohma Yuki." Yuki stared at her; she was like nothing he had ever seen before. Her black hair reaching her waist was left to hang free and a fringe framed her lightly tanned face perfectly.

Neko wore a very fitting high-necked red sleeveless shirt; that had a white stripe down the middle, along with a pair of black denim mini-shorts and black converse high-tops.

A silver rectangle piece of edged with gold was worn as an armlet on her left upper arm while an almost identical piece of jewellery, except in the form of a wristlet, was worn on her left wrist.

A small green jewel with flicks of blue was worn on a silver chain as a piece of head jewellery. A dark brown fingerless glove that reached to her elbow was worn on her right arm while a similar piece of material was worn on her left arm from a little above the wristlet and stretched up till a bit below the armlet.

'_Sohma? That would explain why I didn't transform…'_ Neko thought looking at him, she shook her head mentally. "Well, it was nice meeting you." Neko said smiling and Yuki nodded. _'He doesn't talk much, does he?'_ Neko bowed and started to walk away.

"Hey, what school do you go to?" Yuki called out

"Kaibara High school!" Neko replied, "I've just moved here, I'm starting tomorrow!" Neko ran off and Yuki smiled after her. It seemed to be only Miss Honda that made him smile; this girl reminded him a lot of her too.

--

It was Akana Neko's first day at Kaibara High school; she had tried to avoid talking to people and was now sitting down at a table by herself. She was writing in a book and trying to pull her skirt down further, short skirts weren't exactly her thing, nor was long. Someone sat down next to Neko and she turned to see a smiling Honda Tohru. This caused her to jump and quickly close the book she was writing in.

"Hey! I'm Honda Tohru!" She said still smiling and sticking out her hand for Neko to shake. She stared at the hand and shook it hesitantly.

"Akana Neko, I should probably go." Neko said standing up and packing her book away. Neko wasn't a social person with people she didn't know; she preferred to keep to herself.

Tohru frowned a little. "Have you already eaten your bento?" **(A/N: Bento is a Japanese lunch thingy. Is quite delicious.)**

Neko shook her head. "I was in a rush this morning, I didn't pack one." Tohru's eyes widened and she grabbed Neko by her right wrist, Neko's wince of pain going unnoticed. Tohru pulled Neko towards her table, with Kyo, Haru, Momiji, Hanajima Saki (Hana) and Uotani Arisa. Releasing Neko, Tohru started to dig around in her bag and Neko stood there looking uneasy.

"Tohru-san, why did you bring _her_ all the way over here?" Kyo asked, Neko looked at him and recognised him as a boy from her form.

"She didn't bring any lunch!" Tohru replied still digging around in her bag.

"No, it's alright. I don't want any food!" Neko insisted.

"Careful, if you refuse she'll force-feed you." Kyo muttered, Neko swallowed and started to back away slowly. Turning around she ran smack-bang into Yuki, knocking him over and her falling with him.

Tohru, Haru, Momiji, Kyo and Yuki braced themselves for the puff of smoke indicating Yuki had turned into his zodiac animal, the rat, and the guilt that would come with the act of everyone's memories being erased. Yuki landed on his back and stared up into the eyes of Neko. A deep red blush crept onto her face.

Lucky for her, her skirt stayed down. She rolled off Yuki and sat on the floor while Yuki groaned and rubbed his head. Whacking his head on a hard tiled floor wasn't the most pleasant of landings.

"I'M SO SORRY, YUKI-SAN!" Neko said; she watched Yuki sit up.

'_Why didn't he turn into a rat? And she knows him?'_ The thought went through Tohru's, Kyo's, Haru's and Momiji's head.

Neko gave her full attention Yuki who was still rubbing his head with a look of pain on his face.

'_Phew, it was Miss Neko… but I still don't understand why I didn't transform when I cam in contact with her…'_ Yuki thought, he felt his hand being taken off his head and fingers massaging his scalp. He looked at Neko through the corners of his eyes.

"Does it hurt here?" Yuki blushed, this was this first time he had ever really been touched by a girl without being turned into a rat. It felt good, her fingers moving softly over his scalp and through his hair. Her fingers moved up a little as he didn't reply, he winced a little. It hurt THERE. "SORRY!" She withdrew her fingers and stood up.

"It's alright…" He answered standing up slowly.

"Do you want an ice-pack? I can go get you one if you mmfff." Yuki put his hand over Neko's mouth, muffling her last word. Neko blushed even more and Yuki laughed a little.

"I said it's alright. How did you end up backing into me anyways?" Yuki asked.

Kyo wore a big smile and quickly slipped his phone back into his pocket. BLACK MAIL! "Tohru-san tried to force-feed her." Tohru glared at Kyo and Yuki raised his eyebrow at Tohru.

"She didn't bring any lunch!" Tohru said in her defence, "I was just going to get her some!"

"You didn't need to, I never eat lunch. I'm fine." Apparently that was the wrong thing for Neko to say, Tohru's pupils shrunk and her eye's widened along with her mouth.

Kyo sat her down before she exploded. A rice ball was placed in front of her face, when she opened her mouth to say something it was shoved into her mouth. Neko took the rice ball, bit off some, chewed and swallowed then looked at Yuki.

He smiled. Neko bowed in thanks. She noticed her bag on the ground with its contents spilled out over the floor. She bent down to start packing it up and Yuki joined her, he stopped as he picked up a letter that was lying upside down. The name of the sender was one that sent chills down his spine, Sohma Akito. The letter was tugged out of his hand by Neko and he blushed a little.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" He said handing Neko her books, Neko waved off his apology and smiled. They both stood up and Neko slid her bag onto her shoulder.

"Nah, don't be. I should probably go now." Neko said sticking out her hand for Yuki to shake, he did so and Neko walked away. Turning down a hall the bell rang and everyone rushed to class.

"Damn Rat, hurry up." Kyo muttered, breaking Yuki out of his day-dreaming. They walked together, with Tohru, to their next class. 11A maths.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Yuki is the Rat?

**Chapter 2: Yuki is the Rat?**

**Recap:**

"_Damn Rat, hurry up." Kyo muttered, breaking Yuki out of his day-dreaming. They walked together, with Tohru, to their next class. 11A maths._

**Story:**

They walked in and saw Neko sitting in the back right corner. Tohru ran over to Neko and smiled.

"I didn't know you were in this class!" She said joyfully, giving Neko the shock of her life. First she was staring out of the window next she was looking at Tohru's face. Tohru laughed a little and sat down in front of Neko, Yuki sat next to Tohru and Kyo sat next to Neko. It was either her or Arisa. The teacher walked in and quieted the class down before speaking.

"We have a new student in this class. Please welcome Akana Neko of year 10." Yuki, Kyo and Tohru stared at Neko. She was a year younger than them, and yet she was in class 11A?? Neko blushed a little and hid her face behind her hair.

The work soon started and Neko was done when the rest of the class was only halfway through.

She rested her head on her right hand and started to look out through window. The sleeve on her right arm slid down, Kyo looked at her arm, looked at his work then her arm again.

Pulling it towards him, Neko's head almost hit the desk. She looked at Kyo and saw him staring at a thin line, cut deep into her skin; that went around her wrist. Neko breathed in and Kyo looked at her.

"What happened?" Kyo asked in a low voice

"Nothing." Neko replied, softly tugging it away from Kyo. His grip tightened and Neko sighed. "I was playing with some string and fell asleep; it got tied around my wrists and… yeah." Kyo glared at her and released her arm, he didn't believe that story.

--

The rest of the day Neko was in a class with Tohru, Kyo, Yuki or all three of them. Kyo continued to try to get what happened to her arm out of her but she replied with the same answer, he gave up. It was now last period and 15 minutes before the bell to dismiss school, Neko was sitting on Yuki's right.

"Miss Neko, can you come with me to the front of the school when the bell goes?" Yuki asked

"Huh? Why?" Neko asked

Yuki sighed. "Can you come to my house this afternoon? Miss Honda and Kyo live with me, so they would be there too."

Neko shook her head. "I can't, but thanks for the offer. Maybe some other time."

"Akana Neko, there is a phone call for you." A staff member said walking into her English room. Neko nodded and stood up; following her into the office she answered the phone.

"Akana Neko here, may I ask who is speaking?"

"Don't you dare come home until six tonight, we have important people over and we can't offered you stuffing this up for us." The voice on the other end said.

"Oh, Okaasan, but where am I supposed to go tonight then?" Neko asked

"I don't know! Just make sure you don't come home until after six!" The phone hung up and Neko gave it back to the staff. She bowed and walked back into her English class, sitting next to Yuki she smiled.

"Alright, I'll come this afternoon." Yuki smiled and nodded, they both continued to work until the bell. They packed up their books, gathered their shoes and Yuki led a timid Neko to a tree where Kyo, Tohru, Haru, Momiji, Hana and Arisa were standing.

"Damn Rat, why did you bring _her_ here?" Kyo grumbled

"Don't be so rude, _Kyon-Kyon_." Arisa taunted, Kyo went to yell at Arisa but Neko spoke up.

"I'll go, if you don't want me to come…" Neko said looking at Kyo

Tohru stepped forward. "No! Don't go; Kyo-kun is just a little rude." Neko looked at Tohru and smiled. She bowed and Kyo rolled his eyes.

"You don't need to keep bowing, it's getting annoying." Neko nodded. Arisa and Hana walked away, after saying goodbye to them all, Momiji and Haru also departed and the rest of them started towards Sohma Shigure's house. They saw Shigure sitting out in the garden reading a book.

"Oh hello, who is this?" Shigure asked smiling at Neko.

"Akana Neko. Neko-chan this is Sohma Shigure." Tohru said introducing them.

"Welcome!" Shigure smiled and Neko smiled back. Yuki led Neko inside, she sat down at the table and Yuki sat across from her. Kyo sat next to Neko and Tohru went to get some tea and snacks.

Shigure walked in reading a letter. Yuki saw the name on the back of the envelope, Sohma Akito. Tohru came back, she gave all of them a cup of green tea and left some snacks on the table. Neko sipped her tea slowly, an awkward silence filling the air.

"So, Neko-chan, you must be pretty smart if you're in year 10 and in our math class." Tohru said, trying to start a conversation. Neko merely blushed.

"Stuff this." Kyo said standing up, Yuki and Tohru motioned for him to sit down. He did. Shigure came and sat down with them.

"Neko-san, how much do you know about the Zodiac Animals?" Shigure asked; Kyo and Yuki glared at Shigure in shock.

"The legend of how the rat tricked the cat and the story of people who would transform into one of the 12 Zodiac animals or the cat when they were touched by the opposite gender." Neko answered, Shigure nodded. Kyo and Yuki were shocked by how much she knew. "And that the Sohma family is cursed with the exact same curse." Kyo, Yuki, Tohru and Shigure stared at Neko.

"H-How did you…" Shigure stuttered

"Akito-sama told me in a letter." Neko stood up and walked over to her bag at the door, the four followed her. Withdrawing the letter from her bag she handed it to Shigure. "I do believe I'm the same Zodiac animal as Yuki."

"ALRIGHT! Another rat to beat!" Kyo yelled, pumping his fists in the air. He moved to punch Neko in the face, but when his fist was almost at her face she casually licked it, without so much as blinking. Kyo's fist halted, he went ridged and withdrew his fist. Wiping it on his clothing. "Damn rat! Now I got your germs!"

"I really wish you'd stop calling me that." Neko said frowning. "I take it as an offence and it confuses me, shouldn't _I _be called _you_ that?"

Kyo cocked an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? You said you were the same animal as Yuki!"

"I am! I'm the cat; I thought _you_ were the rat!"

"WHAT?! Do I_ look_ like the rat to you?? Yuki is the rat! I'm the cat!" Kyo yelled, just a little too loud.

"Oh… my mistake, Akito-sama's letter wasn't that clear…" Neko smiled; Kyo noticed didn't notice a red and white beaded piece of jewellery anywhere on her body.

"So, are we able to meet the other Zodiac animals in your family?" Tohru asked, Neko shook her head.

"I'm not actually a Zodiac animal. Every thirteenth generation in my family inherits the Egyptian Cat curse, the Neko family originates from Egypt." Neko explained, "Everyone thirteenth generation is also given the same name, Akana Neko, meaning 'Cat' in Japanese and 'Vessel' in Egyptian."

**(A/N: OKAY, Neko Cat, Neko Vessel in Egyptian Language. It's only said as Akana Neko then Cat Vessel because in Japan you say ppl's last name first then their first name.)**

There was a sound outside the door, Shigure opened it and someone fell in. Neko turned around just in time to be pushed to the ground by a boy.

There was a 'poof' and the boy was lying on a cat with blonde fur and red eyes, also known as Neko. Luckily for her, the boy had his eyes closed when he fell.

Sitting up he stared at the cat and blinked, he had brown hair and hazel eyes. Shigure had kicked Neko's clothes away somewhere, out of sight.

"HEY, YOU LITTLE PUNK! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING LISTENING INTO OUR CONVERSATIONS LIKE THAT?!" Kyo yelled; the boy looked at him.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: A Strange Dream

**Chapter 3: A Strange Dream**

**Recap:**

"_HEY, YOU LITTLE PUNK! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING LISTENING INTO OUR CONVERSATIONS LIKE THAT?!" Kyo yelled; the boy looked at him._

**Story:**

"I-I…" The boy burst into tears and Kyo gained a sweat drop.

"Damn Cat." Yuki muttered.

"No, d-don't cry. I didn't mean to…" Kyo sighed and hung his head. Neko, being the quick thinking girl she was, padded up to the boy, still in cat form.

She rubbed against him and started purring, the boy looked no older than 7. The boy looked down and smiled, hugging Neko she let out a noise of surprise. The boy started to pat Neko; he seemed to calm down a little.

"My name is Tatana Kai." The boy said; Neko's eyes widened as Kai held onto her tighter.

Shigure smiled and placed his hand on Kai's head. "As much as you love my cat, I think you're hugging her a little too tight." The boy released Neko a little and she glared at Shigure. She ran out of the room and into the laundry room, a quite 'poof' sound was heard and a few minutes later Neko came out wearing a baggy blue T-shirt and a pair of Kyo's brown pants. Kyo glared at Neko.

"Ah, um hi everyone…" Neko muttered staring at the ground; she sure hoped Kyo or Yuki didn't get too mad at her for wearing on of their clothes. Kai blinked at Neko.

"You have the same hair and eye colour as his cat." Kai said pointing at Shigure, Neko blushed and smiled. Walking over to Kai she kneeled down.

"Yes, quite marvellous isn't it? Who, may I ask, would you be?" Neko knew full well who he was, he had fallen on her and turned her into 'Shigure's' cat.

"T-Tatana K-Kai." Kai stuttered blushing.

"Nice to meet you, Kai-san." Neko said smiling, she looked at the clock. _'Four o'clock… still another two hours before a can go home…'_

"So, what were you doing outside my house?" Shigure asked

"Oh, I was sent to give this message to a, Akana Neko." Kai said, reading the name off a letter.

Neko gave a piece sign with her right and took the letter from Kai with her left. "That would be me!" Kai stood up, bowed, and then ran out the house. Neko opened the letter, it was from someone name 'Ayame Sohma'.

_Dear Neko,_

_I hope you found the Sohma family easily enough, don't mind Kyo. He has problems with opening up to new people. Also, don't mind my brother Yuki. I find it easier to just block out his talking and move on with my life._

_Sohma Ayame (the Snake)._

Neko looked up to Yuki. "You have a brother?" Yuki nodded and looked at the letter. "He seems, strange…" Yuki smiled a little, Kyo was silently fuming.

"Neko-san…" he muttered calmly, Neko looked at him and pointed to the clothes she was wearing.

"These are your clothes, aren't they?" Kyo nodded, "Don't worry; I got them out of the basket in the laundry room. I'll be out of them as soon as I find my old clothes." Kyo nodded again, still fuming. Neko walked over to her clothes that were under the table. Taking them she ran into their bathroom and changed.

"Kyo-san, I put your clothes in the basket again." Neko said then turned to Shigure and glared.

"Yes, Neko-chan my dear?" Shigure said, smiling at her glare.

"I have half a mind to punch you, and the other half says to slap you into last Tuesday." Shigure's smile faltered a little and he became worried and scared.

"W-Why?" He stuttered

"I quote. 'As much as you love my cat'. I feel inclined to tell you that dogs have Masters, cats have slaves. I belong to no-one and am DEFINITELY not _your cat_!" Neko spat glaring, Kyo found this amusing. Yuki and Tohru gained a sweat drop, as did Shigure.

Shigure put his hands up as Neko advanced towards him. "Well, you see, it was the first thing that came to mind!"

Neko rolled her eyes then turned to Yuki and Tohru, she bowed. "Thankyou for the tea, Tohru-san, and the entertainment, Yuki-san. But I feel I have extended my stay for too long. I'll see you all at school." Gathering her bag, she walked out the door. The others just waved. Kyo smiled at Shigure.

"You just got told off by a _girl_, a _cursed_ girl _cat_." Kyo said and Shigure glared at him. Kyo smiled then walked off, mostly likely up to the roof. Tohru started to gather up the dishes with the help of Yuki and Shigure went to his study.

Neko was walking the streets now, with a little less then two hours until she was allowed to go home, she now felt extremely bored. At least she had made some friends; she blushed a little as she thought of Yuki. He was nice, helpful, thoughtful and cute.

Neko sighed and hung her head; he also had over half the school's female population crushing on him… Neko stopped walking and looked at her watch. _'4:30pm…'_ She looked around, soon she realised she had no idea where she was. Except that she was in a park, she looked around and saw a street, _her_ street.

Neko walked over to a bench, she watched this park everyday when she left the house. The five children, three boys and two girls, who normally played here were no where to be found.

**Neko yawned then heard a noise from behind her, turning around she saw all the children who used to play her staring at her. They slowly walked towards her.**

"**Are you that girl who lives in the basement in that street?" One of the girls asked, Neko was shocked.**

'_**How did they know my room was a basement…?'**_** Neko thought, "I-I'm sorry?"**

"**You are! Everyday when we play here! We hear you yelling out in pain and for help!" Neko looked at the girl.**

"**That's not true, why would you even SAY that?" Neko growled standing up, the children backed away. "I NEVER yell out for help! Who the HELL ARE YOU ANYWAY?!"**

"**You don't yell out loud, you yell in your head. We read minds, we can hear you. Yelling out in terror." A boy beside the girl spoke up, Neko backed away a bit as they advance towards her.**

"**Come with us! We'll help you! We'll keep you away from them!" The youngest girl said running towards Neko. Neko backed up faster and fell over; she flung a rock at the girl, narrowly missing her.**

"**S-STAY AWAY FROM M-ME! I-I HAVE NO IDEA W-WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT!" The little girl burst into tears, the remaining two boys rushed up and started to calm her down while the eldest boy and girl stared at Neko.**

"**The Sohma family can help you. If you won't let us help you, tell Sohma Yuki." The three boys turned into a black dog, a white rat and an orange cat. The two girls continued to stare at Neko. Then, all of a sudden, they disappeared into clouds of smoke.**

Neko woke up; she was lying on the ground. Neko sat up; it was starting to get dark. Looking at her watch it read 5:30pm.

Brushing leaves out of her hair she sat crossed legged, half an hour left now. _'There is NO WAY I am asking Sohma Yuki for help… I can work out my own problems.'_ Neko thought, glaring where the children were in her dream.


End file.
